Devendra Kumar
Recording-breaking winds in France and across much of western Europe have left at least five people dead and injured several others as Storm Ciarán charged through the continent. The storm plunged vast numbers into darkness, devastating homes and causing travel mayhem in several countries. Winds of more than 118mph battered the northern tip of France’s Atlantic coast, uprooting trees and blowing out windows. A truck driver was killed when his vehicle was hit by a tree in northern France’s inland region of Aisne, said transport minister Clement Beaune. Another person was badly injured at a university in the northern city of Roubaix, and 15 more were hurt around western and northern France, authorities announced. Seven of the injured were emergency workers.
Huge waves slammed into French ports and shorelines, as wind flattened street signs and ripped off roofing. Felled trees blocked roads around western France, according to Associated Press reporters and images on French media and social networks. Some 1.2 million French households were left without electricity on Thursday, electrical utility Enedis announced in a statement. That includes about half of the homes in Brittany, the Atlantic peninsula hardest hit by Ciarán. Enedis said it would deploy 3,000 workers to restore power when conditions allowed. The wind reached up to 96mph on the Normandy coast and up to 90mph inland. Fishing crews put their livelihoods on hold and stayed ashore. Local authorities closed forests, parks and beachfronts in some regions.
Trees were brought down across France, including in Brittany. In Spain, where the storm battered much of the country with heavy rain and gale-force winds, emergency services in Madrid said a woman died on Thursday after a tree fell on her. Three other people were slightly injured in the incident in city center street. Parks in the capital and other cities were closed, and several trains and flights were cancelled.
In Belgium, one person died in central Ghent when a tree fell on them in a park. Local and national authorities warned residents not to get close to green spaces for fear of crashing trees. Another person was injured during the same incident. In Germany, a young woman was fatally injured by a falling tree in Rammelsberg, in the Harz mountains in northern Germany.
Thousands were also without power in the UK. Sharp gusts blew roofs off buildings and toppled trees. Some had to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in hotels as Ciarán pummelled the south of England. Hundreds of schools stayed closed in the south-west England coastal communities of Cornwall and Devon, as downed trees and flooding hindered morning commutes all across the South East. Rail companies urged commuters to work from home if possible because of possible falling trees and debris on the tracks. P&O Ferries said tourist traffic was being sent away from the Port of Dover, which has suspended sailings. The roof of a lorry was torn off in the town, local police said, while a major road has been partly closed for public safety.